Anand Giridharadas

He was like this random guy with a radio show who invited me on his radio show, and we had these conversations on his radio show.

Like all people of color, I have enough of a vibe radar to know when I'm in the presence of someone who is racist or doesn't see me as an equal, right?

I've spent time with Steve Bannon.

I've interviewed him many times.

Steve Bannon doesn't radiate that at all.

Steve Bannon treats me very well.

Steve Bannon has respect for my work and sometimes texts me about that, even though my work is the opposite of everything he's trying to do.

I don't get it.

Steve Bannon doesn't believe a lot of the things he needs a bunch of poor white people to believe.

to uphold his power.

If you're the kind of flag-waving, Confederate flag-waving white nationalist racist that he needs other people to be, you can't work for Goldman Sachs the way he did.

You'll get fired.

You can't move in a lot of the circles he moved in.

So I'm not saying there's no racism in Steve Bannon's heart.

All I'm saying is I often get more racism vibe sitting in a plane next to someone than I do from sitting with Steve Bannon and talking to him about these issues.

These are powerful people who need poor white people to agree with a bunch of bullshit that even they really don't believe in order to keep them in power and frankly keep those poor white people locked out of power.

That's exactly right.

So there's been different things that have been released over time.

But a few weeks ago, the congressional committee that was looking into this released a bunch of emails that had come from, I think, Epstein's estate.

And it was thousands and thousands and thousands of emails from him to him to his associates, friends, colleagues, whatever.